Steven Delarge has had to learn to juggle many responsibilities during his decades as a CEO and CFO in the chemical and aerospace industries. A successful executive, Steven Delarge says, learns to efficiently manage tasks in the most effective manner possible. Today, Steven Delarge shares with Oceans 2003 some great time management tips that could free up time in your day.
Oceans 2003: Thanks for speaking with us today, Steven Delarge. For many CEOs, management tasks seem to take up a huge amount of time.
Steven Delarge: Unfortunately, employee issues tend to go straight to the top.
Oceans 2003: Can you give us some examples of that?
Steven Delarge: Customer complaints and serious personnel issues are often brought to the attention of the CEO. A good executive learns how to delegate.
Oceans 2003: How can a CEO know which tasks can be delegated?
Steven Delarge: It’s all about surrounding oneself with good people. Serious personnel issues should be handed off to legal or human resources, who will advise you on how to proceed. Customer complaints need to be passed down the chain with an imperative that something is done about them.
Oceans 2003: But some executives delegate so much, they fall out of touch with the very company they’re running.
Steven Delarge: Absolutely. That is the fine line CEOs and CFOs must walk. Be there for your employees but trust them to do their jobs. Nobody likes a micromanager.
Oceans 2003: What things should not be delegated?
Steven Delarge: Even if a CEO or CFO were to delegate every communication that came his or her way, there’s still plenty to be done. An executive should be constantly touching base with his management team.
Oceans 2003: How do you feel about making lists?
Steven Delarge: I think lists have an important place in time management. But a list is only as good as the person creating it. If you don’t follow the list each day, it’s just a waste of paper.
Oceans 2003: Any advice for creating a to-do list?
Steven Delarge: Well, I’m actually a strong advocate of the “don’t do” list, which is a list of time-wasting activities that a person will eliminate each day in order to squeeze more time in.
Oceans 2003: That sounds like a great idea.
Steven Delarge: It works for me. I also find that prioritizing becomes more important as you achieve more success in your career. You have to learn that you can’t do everything, every day.
Oceans 2003: You’ve been very helpful today, Mr. Delarge. Steven Delarge is a leader in the business world, so we’ve been very fortunate to hear these tips from him.
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